That actually got a frown from Aiden, but he looked more thoughtful than anything. “You’re probably right.” He straightened again. “But it’s easier to take care of one person than three hundred-some.”
Zoe shrugged. “Not if you have three hundred times the money and resources.”
Aiden didn’t say anything to that.
Zoe turned back to the cookies, feeling less defensive as he continued to seemingly think about what she’d said. “Your dad’s job was pretty stable, right?” she asked. “Healthcare and vacation time and all that?”
Aiden also faced the worktable again and picked up another cookie. “Yeah. Very. And his seniority with the company mattered to them too. Even when he started drinking hard, they gave him a lot of chances. He had an assistant and coworkers who covered for him and a boss who was sympathetic.”
Zoe swallowed hard. She remembered when Aiden’s mom had died. She’d been devastated. She had only been ten and hadn’t really realized moms could die. Not that young anyway. She remembered seeing Aiden torn up, sad, angry. She also remembered her own mother being almost manic—cooking, baking, cleaning, doing things because if she sat still she’d have to think about losing Julie. It had been an awful time all around.
Zoe also remembered the change in Aiden’s dad. Dan had always been a wonderful guy. Happy, friendly, outgoing. He’d coached the boys in baseball from peewees until they started playing on the official school team. He’d been the one to allow a trampoline in the backyard and had assured Zoe and Josie that, no matter what the boys said, they were welcome to jump on it anytime they wanted. He’d been the one to pick Zoe up and carry her home after she’d fallen out of his tree and fractured a rib.
Then Julie died, and Dan had changed overnight. He’d been sad. All the time. Quiet. He didn’t go out, didn’t want to socialize. And he’d started drinking. Zoe hadn’t really known what that meant, but he’d started snapping at the kids when they were around, so obviously, they’d stopped going over there.
She remembered one day Maggie had asked her to take some leftovers to him. Zoe hadn’t wanted to go. Dan might bark at her. Or he might not even answer the door. She didn’t know how to act around him. He was a different person than the man she’d known. But Maggie had seemed so tired when she’d said, “Just do it, please,” so Zoe had trudged across the yards.
She’d found Dan crying at the kitchen table. She’d seen her mom cry. There had been tears on her dad’s cheeks at Julie’s funeral. But she’d never seen an adult man sob. Dan had been sobbing as if… well, as if his heart was broken.
“There’s a lot more to people’s lives than work,” she said, running her finger through a smudge of frosting on the worktable.
Aiden gave a soft chuckle. “How would you know?”
She looked up. “I don’t work all the time.” But she did. She worked all the time. Her work was her life. “Yeah, okay. But when you’re the boss, it’s different.”
He nodded. “It really is.”
She studied him. “You work a lot?”
“All the time.”
“Really?”
He nodded again. “I make myself go to the gym and take time off. I make the other guys take time off too.” He paused and smiled. “Okay, Dax makes us take time off. But I back him up. He’s the one who reminds us when we’ve been at it for too long, and I always agree.”
She smiled. “Dax needs a break more often?”
“He believes in a healthy balance between work and play,” Aiden said. “He’s got articles and everything. He’s gone to conferences.”
“In warm, sunny places?” she guessed with a grin.
“Of course,” Aiden said with an answering grin. “Then again, a lot of our work feels like play. Kind of like making cupcakes and cookies for a living. But it’s important—according to Dax—to not forget that just because you enjoy what you do, it’s still work, and you need more in your life.”
“You believe him?”
“I do. I haven’t been very good about it,” Aiden admitted. “I kept telling myself, in one more year I’ll take more time off. Or after one more project I’ll relax a little. Or that I would just know when it was time.” He met her gaze for a long moment. “I think that last one was the one that finally came true.”
Zoe felt her heart flutter. Actually flutter. This guy was the same guy she’d always known. The one who she’d thought could never surprise her, never be exciting, never be the kind of thrilling she wanted from her love life, and yet he was making her heart flutter. On a regular basis.
He was definitely surprising her.
“What?” he asked after she’d stared at him for a few long seconds.
“I’m just looking at you and seeing an adult businessman with responsibilities and people who depend on you and that you’re actually taking that seriously and… it’s just weird.”
It was hot was what it was. And kind of awesome. Okay, really awesome. She liked this side of him. It was a little discombobulating, maybe, but no more so than having him kiss her in front of the entire morning rush. Or finger her to orgasm before her second cup of coffee.
No, seeing him in businessman mode was more discombobulating than that. Because she’d imagined the other stuff before. Vividly. She hadn’t really thought of him as an employer and an in-charge corporate guy. At least not a kick-ass, in-charge corporate guy with a heart.
At times, she’d pictured him and her brother with their money from their online game buying stupid things like too-expensive cars and high-tech refrigerators that told them the day’s weather and stock market news, kept track of their grocery list, made perfectly round ice, and practically brushed their teeth for them. In other words, stupid shit no one actually needed.
But it turned out Aiden was taking his position as a boss seriously and was looking at ways to make things better for his employees.
That was, strangely, sexy.
He took that in and then gave her a low smile. His eyes dropped to the front of her apron. Her breasts, kind of, but then he said, “Well, don’t get too freaked out. I still like to play with food.”
She frowned and looked down. Her apron was streaked with frosting. Her body got a little warm and she looked up. “Whew, that was a close one.”
He reached out and ran his finger over the frosting that was smeared over the top of her left breast. It was about two inches from her nipple, but the tip hardened, begging for him to give it some attention too. Then he lifted the frosting to his mouth, sucking it from his fingertip.
Oh yeah, her nipple definitely wanted some of that action.
She had to get these cookies done. And she and Aiden were in the front of the bakery. The area with the big windows. And Josie was in back. And… those were the only excuses she could come up with for not stripping her clothes off right then and there. They were big ones, sure, but she was already thinking about how the front door was locked and how if they were on the floor behind the counter no one would be able to see them and how Josie could definitely have the rest of the day off.
“We need to frost the rest of the cookies,” she said. Maybe Aiden could help her out with some willpower here. “Mrs. Murphy will be here in about two hours.”
“We do,” Aiden said. With a smirk. He knew what she’d been thinking.
What else would they have been doing other than frosting cookies? No one had suggested anyone take any clothes off. At least not out loud. But he knew what she’d been thinking.
So she gave him a wink, took in his surprised reaction, and then bent over the cookies again. They frosted, side by side, in companionable silence for a few minutes. But her mind was spinning.
Finally, Zoe said, “You know, we’re actually a lot alike with our businesses.”
“Yeah?” he asked, nearly done with his cookies. He smoothed the edge of a final blue flower and set it with the others for her to decorate.
“Yeah, we both came into our jobs really easily. I took over my famil
y’s bakery—where I’ve been working all my life—and you and Cam and the guys kind of accidentally made something that became popular.”
He gave a little chuckle, but he didn’t dispute that. He reached for one of the blue flowers he’d finished icing and picked up a tube of yellow buttercream with a star tip.
“And we were both young when we started in our businesses,” she continued. “And it seems we’re having to grow up and get more responsible and serious at the same time.”
“You’re right,” he said. He looked over at her. “I guess we’ve got something in common there. That’s pretty cool.”
“It is.” She smiled. “Maybe we could… talk more about it. I’d like to hear more about what you figure out with your employees. And maybe you could look at our books, and we could talk about some ways to make something work for benefits for Josie.”
He looked genuinely surprised and straightened slightly. “Really? You’d want my input?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know if I can afford anything at all, honestly. And I’m nowhere near the scale you guys are. But I wouldn’t mind having someone else looking at it with me. Mom never dealt with this stuff. Dad doesn’t look at this stuff from an employer standpoint. It would feel weird to let any other business person I know look at all my books. I definitely want to ask Josie what kind of stuff she would need, but I don’t know about really diving into all the numbers with her.” Zoe frowned. “I’m really the only one who deals with all of it now.”
But she could trust Aiden with it. The bakery didn’t bring in millions of dollars, and there were good and bad months, but it didn’t bother her to think about letting Aiden see that. Hell, he might have some advice. He’d said Grant was their money guy, but she was certain Aiden knew plenty about the financials of their company.
Aiden seemed to think that over, then he nodded. “I’d be very happy to help you with that. Of course. Whatever you need.”
There was a huskiness in his voice almost as if her asking meant a lot to him. She felt another little flutter like before, but this one she felt in her stomach. It felt like a combination of anticipation and happiness because she’d have some help but also like pleasure because she’d made him happy by asking.
She smiled. “Thanks.”
This felt really good and natural, actually. Talking to Aiden about the bakery would be completely comfortable. He was a businessman, but more, he knew this bakery and he loved it. He had a personal interest in it. He always had. When his mother had worked here and because he considered Letty a second grandmother and Maggie a second mother. But now, looking into his eyes, standing here frosting cookies, talking business, teasing about frosting, Zoe definitely got the feeling there was even more personal here. That he cared because of her. Not because he considered her a friend or a little sister.
It felt like more than that.
His gaze dropped to her mouth, and the warm flutter of pleasure quickly turned to a hot jolt of lust. She felt her lips part and her heart trip. She really wanted him to kiss her. Really wanted that.
“We need to frost the rest of the cookies,” he said. “Mrs. Murphy will be here in about two hours.”
His attention was still on her lips.
“We do,” she agreed. It was true, of course. But clearly, he was thinking about other things. And knew she was too. Again.
He leaned in and she held her breath. He brushed his lips over hers then said gruffly, “But we need to be a little stingy with the pink frosting, okay?”
“Why’s that?” she asked, breathlessly against his lips.
“Because I want nothing more than to put you up on that worktable in back and suck pink frosting off your nipples.”
She couldn’t help the little moan that escaped. “That back worktable? Not this one?”
“Gotta admit the idea of all the men in Appleby seeing that, and knowing you are now mine, is pretty fucking tempting.”
Zoe sucked in a quick breath. She’d never considered herself an exhibitionist, but she definitely liked having her baked goods on display and having people exclaiming over them. Maybe this would be the same. She giggled.
He pulled back a little to look down at her, smiling. “That’s funny?”
“I was just thinking about how much work I put into all the things I put pink frosting on and how much I like having people look at them.”
He laughed. “Forget it. You and your nipples and all the parts of you I can cover in frosting are all for me.”
Again, his possessiveness, even when it was playful, surprised her. As did how hot it made her.
Yes, Aiden Anderson was surprising her in many ways. Much to her surprise.
“Frost those cookies,” she said. “I suddenly want to close early.” She looked up at him from under her eyelashes. “And I never close early.”
“Well, your workaholic heart can relax a little,” he said, lifting a hand and running his thumb over her bottom lip. “It’s not like you’re going to be leaving the bakery early.”
She blew out a little breath. “I guess that’s true.”
He leaned back, giving her a little room. “But definitely ease up on the pink.”
“It has to be the pink we save?” she asked, amused by that.
“For some reason, yeah,” he said.
“You don’t know why?” She did.
“It’s my favorite color, and I’ve always associated it with this bakery and all the sweet stuff inside.”
So he did know.
He leaned in again. “And nothing’s sweeter inside this place than you.”
This time it was Zoe that stretched up on tiptoe and met his lips with hers in a quick, sweet kiss.
“You are kissing?”
They jerked apart at the sound of Maggie’s voice. They both swung to face the kitchen door where Zoe’s mother stood, staring at them.
“You’re just standing around in the front of the bakery, during business hours, when anyone could walk in, kissing?”
They hadn’t heard her come in because she’d come in the back. Of course she had. She’d been coming in the bakery through the back door all her life.
Zoe felt her cheeks heat. “Mom!”
“Zoe,” Maggie said. She looked at Aiden. “Aiden.”
“You already heard about that, huh?” Aiden asked.
Zoe looked up at him. He looked… amused.
“Of course I already heard about it!” Maggie exclaimed. “My daughter and the boy who’s practically my son, kissing, in my bakery, in front of the entire town?” There might have been a question mark at the end of that sentence, but she wasn’t asking a question. She was making an accusation.
“Mom,” Zoe started. But she really didn’t know what to say.
“It seemed like the fastest and easiest way to spread the news,” Aiden told her. Calmly.
He wasn’t embarrassed. Or worried. Or apologetic. At all.
Zoe looked at her mom again.
“Well, it was that,” Maggie said, her tone a little calmer. She crossed her arms. “So you are together?”
Suddenly Zoe realized she needed to be the one to answer that. She met her mother’s eyes directly. “Yes. We are.”
She felt Aiden’s hand slide across her lower back to her hip. He drew her closer to him and squeezed her hip. He was pleased. That was good. She liked that. He’d been staking his claim on her, and she could have been annoyed and angry and offended. Instead, she was glad because she wouldn’t have gotten there on her own probably. But now, she could give him some of that back.
“How long has this been going on?” Maggie asked. “How long since things changed?”
“Christmas,” Zoe answered honestly. Things hadn’t gone according to her plan on Christmas Eve, but that was definitely when things had changed. Or started to. Actually, things had really changed when Aiden had come back to Appleby and started surprising her. But Christmas Eve had started things in motion.
Maggie looked from one of them
to the other. “And now what?”
“Now we’re together,” Aiden said. “I’m back in Appleby to make this work.”
Maggie looked at Zoe. All Zoe could do was nod. That’s what he’d told her too. Honestly, at this point, if he said he was leaving, she’d be… brokenhearted. Not angry and hurt and embarrassed like at Christmas, but actually heartbroken. Which meant in the span of a few hours, Aiden had made her at least start falling for him.
Of course, having a lifetime together already made that easier. Knowing him, him being a part of her life already, made it so they could skip ahead several spaces on this particular game board. But now that she’d opened up to this whole idea, her feelings had started to change quickly.
Maggie just watched them both for a long moment. Then she nodded. “Wonderful. I love you both very much.”
Stunned, Zoe nodded. “I love you too.”
“Love you too, Maggie,” Aiden said.
“Now, can you keep your hands off each other long enough to get your work done, or do you need some help?” Maggie asked, eyeing the cookies behind them.
“Well, since you offered, I can think of a few other things I’d rather be doing, as a matter of fact,” Aiden said.
Maggie actually laughed at that.
Zoe elbowed him. “We’re fine, Mom. Of course we’ll get these done. And Aiden has actually been doing his own work.” She nodded in the direction of his computer.
“All right,” Maggie said. “Then I’ll leave you alone. But,” she said as she paused in the open door to the kitchen, “no more big news delivered via grapevine. I fed you chicken fettuccini, and you didn’t tell me you were in love with my daughter,” she said, pointing a finger at Aiden. “That means when you propose, I’d better be the second person to know after Zoe, or you’re going to be cut off from pasta at my house.”
Zoe felt a jolt go through her at hearing her mother say Aiden was in love with her then another at the mention of him proposing. Whoa. That was… not as crazy as it should be.
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